Analyst house AMR Research found that while SOA spending is on the rise nearly everywhere, a lack of clarity about its benefits makes IT's long-term commitment to the model iffy.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars will be invested pursuing these markets in 2008, much of it wasted," said AMR analyst Ian Finley. SOA spend up despite unclear benefits.

Why? Well, for one, the actual benefits of creating an SOA remain somewhat murky and, in some instances, even misguided. Whereas vendors and others cite the ability to reuse components as one major benefit, in reality IT shops are finding that agility is the more practicable, if harder to measure, advantage to SOA, Finley contends.

As of now, Finley is concerned that SOA may not get picked up much beyond the early adopters — mainly financial services, telecommunications, and government organizations that are predisposed to the value of architecture and thus more willing to pursue SOA for less-quantifiable results.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 26, 2008 07:43 AM